Both Tomiyama and Ishikawa are gearing up for the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen line in the spring of 2015. Noto Peninsula’s Wakura Onsen should be easier to get to now. We want to show you the suite room at Tadaya a famous inn at Wakura Onsen. It is a desirable room where the ocean is right in front of the outdoor bath of the room.

A private pier for this inn facing the quiet waters of Nanao Bay

In the onsen town of Wakura Onsen there are huge hotels such as the Kagaya which has been voted number 1 for 34 years straight in the hotel rankings done by the tourism industry newspaper. If you move away from the onsen town deeper in the peninsula you come to a lone standing inn facing Nanao Bay, which is Tadaya featured here today.
Some of you may know about this inn from the Fuji TV documentary “The Non-fiction Hanayome Noren Monogatari” which featured the young proprietress’s struggles starting this place and the story of her husband and the current CEO.
Because of the seaside sloping grounds the hotel lobby and main entrance are on the third floor. Once here you can take a breather in the lobby. The afternoon sea with sunlight glistening off of it is there to greet you.
The destination room is on the first floor of the annex. On the way to that room you will see the scene pictured above.

Surprisingly this hotel has its own private pier, and you can come here in your own yacht or cruiser. This day there was only a guest who had his fishing pole out. It is a scene of the wife looking on in support of the husband enjoying his fishing. It is an idyllic and heartwarming scene.

An outdoor bath facing the sea attached to this room

The Rikyu suites here are built in Taisho period style and the color scheme induces nostalgia. Out of the 12 rooms the newly redesigned rooms on the first floor are 712, 715, and 716. There are 6 rooms on the first floor and each one has an outdoor onsen bath attached to it with this redesign.

Pictured above is room 712. A 15 tatami mat room with a hearth is the main room, and further in is the outdoor bath with a deck on it. The room is spacious and right in front is the ocean. Across the quiet waters of Nanao Bay is the Noto Peninsula and you can bathe while watching the sun go down.

A room where you can enjoy bathing in an outdoor bath while fishing

Although there are other onsens that are close to the sea, but an outdoor bath that is this close to the sea is unusual. How close you ask? You can fish while bathing in the outdoor bath. You can borrow a rod from the inn so you don’t have to bring your own. If you like fishing then you should bring your own of course. They say there are many guests who come for the fishing. You can even eat what you catch by handing the fish over to the staff.
The newly built deck’s outdoor bath tub is ceramic. Half of the tub is surrounded by a bench for you to enjoy a foot bath. Enjoy a heavenly moment bathing while listening to the waves.

A menu focusing on quality over quantity of Nanao Bay seafood

Pictured above is the part of the dinner you get at a Rikyu room. It is all made with fresh local seasonal ingredients. The sashimi plate is red sea bream, striped shrimp, amberjack, and Thomas’s Rapa Whelk.
Of course these change based on season but, Thomas’s Rapa Whelk is a rare dish in Noto. What’s also great is they offer 2 different types of Noto Soy Sauce that is mild. The dish on the right side is a sweet stewed whelk, a lemon stewed sweet potato Gorojima Kintoki, and grilled tea beans. The main dish is a steak of Noto Beef above A4 grade. The chef here trained at the famous dining inn in Kanazawa, Tsubajin.

The large bath house has a variety of baths and an onsen drinking area

The large bath area is spacious and has a different feel to the outdoor bath in the room.
There is an 18m long indoor bath with a glass wall, and ceramic bath tubs that look out onto the sea as well as a bath made from boulders.
At the large bath house there is a spring water drinking area with a ladle so you can internally take in the rich minerals.
Legend has it that a fishermen couple living in Wakura saw a white egret relaxing in the steaming ocean and named it Wakura. (Waku means to spring out and Ura means inlet).
Also that the second generation clan leader of Kaga Clan, Maeda Toshinaga was hindered by swelling he would have people fetch the waters from Wakura to fix it.
If you come to Wakura you have to enjoy this high quality onsen water.

High end sweets and sushi

Wakura Onsen is attractive for its food and onsen. In the onsen town there is the museum & café “Le Musee De H” run by the world famous patisserie Hironobu Tsujiguchi, where you can enjoy some sweets while taking in the ocean view.

Also the sushi in the Noto area is high level and “Noto Sushinoso Nobuzushi” is famous locally. They even have a shuttle service from the station or the hotel.
This area will not let you down with its famous shops and services making a guaranteed great vacation.